Multnomah Falls in Oregon: July 2021

Headed to the beautiful Pacific Northwest? Multnomah Falls is one of the Northwests biggest attractions and is one of the most beautiful places in the entire country with around 2 million visitors coming to the falls ever year according to US Forest Service. Shooting an eye catching shot? Are you a visitor or do you love photography? Whether it is hiking, photography or just a quick stop you will no doubt be left feeling a deep connection to nature after having visited this amazing waterfall. There are a few things we must go over before you plan your visit though.

 

468*60

Where is Multnomah Located?

Multnomah is located along the I-84 here in Oregon. The I-84 and if you are traveling along either the west bound or east bound directions keep in mind that the Columbia River Gorge itself is an incredibly scenic route. The views are just absolutely breathtaking views of mountains, the river, various small waterfalls along the route and beautiful trees in either direction. You will no doubt enjoy the views, the fresh air and the various stops along the way no doubt and hopefully stopping here in Hood River Oregon with our windsurfing, nice restaurants, you will have an enjoyable stay here. The falls is located about a 30 minute drive east of Portland and if you are coming from east to west be on the look out for a nice small town called Cascade Locks and about 10 minutes after passing Cascade Locks you will come to Multnomah Falls. There are signs posted and hopefully you will not miss it.

A big heads up though, parking is severely limited so I highly recommend finding another way to get there, as there are options so that you do not have to fight parking. Especially during the summertime the traffic and parking is very difficult to deal with and I will give you a few options to deal with the parking issue.

Things To Know Before You Plan Your Trip To Multnomah Falls

The big thing to keep in mind is that recently to alleviate the parking issues they have begun to issue a ticket and reservation service there, so that you must reserve a ticket for certain time slots to see Multnomah Falls.

So for example you may purchase a ticket from 2 to 3 pm and keep in mind this is not a ticket for parking, this is to get into the park.

A few more items to keep in mind:

Taking a bus or shuttle exempts you from this ticket and reservation system as you get a sticker if you ride the Sasquatch or CGE (Columbia Gorge Express) so no need to worry about the reservation if you already took a bus there.

Other passes from national parks do not apply to the ticketing system.

You can reserve your ticket at https://recreation.gov then search for Multnomah Falls

To be more specific: https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/10073376/ticket/10073377

The cost of each ticket is 1 dollar per person. Not 1 dollar per group, so keep in mind each person is one dollar.

Before 9am and after 5pm there is no need for a reservation ticket.

They are not allowed as of this writing to accept cash or credit/debit on location you must get your QR code at the recreation.gov website.

There is horrible cell phone reception at Multnomah, Tmobile is almost non existent, some other services have very spotty reception so get your tickets beforehand.

Parking And Transportation To And From Multnomah Falls

The first option is to use the Columbia Gorge bus service know as CAT. You can access their homepage here: https://www.ridecatbus.org/

If you are coming from Portland you can hop on the Eastbound Route here: https://www.ridecatbus.org/columbia-gorge-express/

Coming from the west of Multnomah Falls? Click on the same route: https://www.ridecatbus.org/columbia-gorge-express/

Something to keep in mind….and this is coming from a local perspective is if you are coming from Hood River especially you can hop right off in Cascade Locks at Thunder Island and have a meal either before or after coming to and from Hood River. There is a lot within walking distance of this bus stop, and the fare on the Columbia Gorge Express is 10 dollars per person each way. If you are going to Multnomah your ticket to Multnomah is free the bus should give you a sticker to take to Multnomah so that you do not have to reserve a time slot.

Barring using the CGE or Columbia Gorge Express, I would use another service that makes it much easier the Sasquatch Shuttle.

Sasquatch Shuttle alleviates your parking headache a bit by shuttling you from a more distant parking lot to Multnomah and you also do not have to reserve a ticket for a specific time slot which they recently implemented.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3954766TwOE&t=1s

Yet another service that can take you to Multnomah is Explore the Gorge shuttle service that has service to Multnomah. Check them out!

Facebook Page for Explore the Gorge shuttle service: https://www.facebook.com/EXPLORE-THE-GORGE-85582971513

I certainly hope you have a wonderful time and I hope this article makes it all the more enjoyable to visit Multnomah Falls!!

 

468*60

 

See Also some of my other content if you like this you may like my podcast on Hood River.  Check out and look for Discover Hood River on iTunes and other platforms for podcasts.  If not, I will start posting my podcasts on youtube as well, here is my latest one as of March 2022: 

 

Also, if you like hiking around Hood River check out some of these books and media from Amazon about Hood River: 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading I hope you have enjoyed this article!